Event organiser defends salon culinaire shake-up

Event organiser Fresh RM has responded to criticism about its decision to axe the salon culinaire from Hospitality Week 2003.

The company announced plans to do away with the Heart of England Salon Culinaire at Hotelympia last February.

Exhibition director Claire Finch said that while she was sympathetic to concerns from salon culinaire competitors and attendees, elements of Hospitality Week, which will run from 20 to 23 January at Birmingham's NEC, needed a shake-up.

"Hospitality Week is a very successful show, but because it is almost identical to Hotelympia, yet a fraction of the size, it is perceived as a secondary show," she said. "It has 8,000sq m, and 17,000 people attending - in a lot of markets, that would be considered the leading show.

"What I have to do is to differentiate between Hospitality Week and Hotelympia so that exhibitors and visitors get more than they currently do at Hospitality Week."

Although details for Hospitality Week were still being finalised as Caterer went to press, Finch did confirm that the show would retain a competition element.

"Instead of doing what we do at Hotelympia - which is put the buzz and excitement of competitions behind a wall, away from what's happening on the show floor - I want to take the wall down and make it accessible to more visitors. Fundamentally, our business is about taste. People want to taste the food being produced."

She added that while she wants the events at Hotelympia to maintain their aspirational, fine-dining image, Hospitality Week will be more "down to earth", with chefs facing practical challenges such as managing budgets, staffing issues and time restrictions.

Finch said those who had competed in Hospitality Week's Heart of England Salon Culinaire in the past would still find some relevance in the show - "but the remit will be wider". La Parade des Chefs, the glass-walled kitchens that previously formed the competition element of the salon, would be replaced by a restaurant and bar concept.

"Hospitality Week needs to reflect all elements of the industry, not just the fine-dining end," said Finch. "It's difficult to make changes to something that's hugely successful, but someone's got to do it and it's going to be me. Ultimately, it is my job to develop a show that is of interest to visitors."

Peter Griffiths, Hospitality Week and Hotelympia salon director, remains key to the development of food and drink features.

Finch said she planned to give Hospitality Week a stronger business focus and enable visitors and exhibitors to interact more.

A theatre will be available to exhibitors, where they will be able to hold seminars for visitors on a theme of their choice. The space will be rented by exhibitors and promoted on Fresh RM's show Web site.

Exhibitors will also be able to book rooms within the exhibition to encourage forward-planning from both parties.

Hospitality Week will also host an interiors feature within the furniture, furnishings and tableware area.

In a letter to Caterer last month (11 April, page 20), David Mulcahy, national chairman for the Craft Guild of Chefs, questioned Fresh RM's awareness of the depth of feeling surrounding the organisation's decision to scrap the salon.

"Take away the salons and you take away the reason for chefs to attend the exhibitions, as well as the theatre and spectacle," he wrote. "If anything, the organisers should be increasing the number of live theatres to cope with demand."

Analysing the visitor data from this year's Hotelympia, Finch confirmed that 18% of the 48,519 visitors said that attending salon culinaire was an integral part of visiting the show for them.

"However, we also ran a small feature for the first time called Design Showcase," she said, "and a similar figure [6,398] expressed an interest in that feature."

Finch added that when she made her announcement about her plans for the salon at Hospitality Week, only two out of 850 exhibitors expressed strong views.

Hotelympia 2004, which will be held for the first time at ExCel in London's Docklands, will continue to hold its Salon Culinaire International de Londres.